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3.95 AVERAGE
3.95 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
4.5/5
Unlike most people, I did not enjoy Kagawa's Iron Fey trilogy. Firstly I mostly hate fae stories but I also really hated the romance of Meghan and Ash (want to punch his stupid face) so I was initially going to skip this because I mostly hate vampire stories and hadn't had a good experience with the author's previous work. But then everybody seemed to be reviewing it and I am very susceptible to hype. So I picked up a copy to give it a shot.
The beginning did not ease my suspicions as it seemed to drag on and on. I didn't really care about Allison and her gang's struggle for life on the Fringe and I was so fed up with weakling Stick and his inability to toughen up and care for himself. While I admired Allison for her unrelenting hatred of vampires, nothing much was keeping me engaged with the book. However I do like the main character's name (Allison (that's with 2 L's) is my favorite sister's name) and seriously pretty much everyone raved about this book. I kept going.
At the end of the first section is when Allison is almost dead and has the option to die forever or to become a vampire. She chooses to survive and is turned. This is when I was really drawn into the book. Her mentor is Kanin, an ancient vampire with many secrets who trains Allison in what she needs to know. She will forever have to battle her Hunger but she has the ability to decide what kind of monster she will be. I love Kanin and lament his disappearance from the narrative so early but the book actually got even better (and we should see more of Kanin in the next book-fingers crossed)!
After Allison is on her own, she falls in with a band of humans and must masquerade as one despite suspicion from several members of the group. One who accepts her almost unquestioningly is Zeke, the second in command in the party on the search for Eden, a human city entirely without the menace of vampires. As they journey, Allison continues to struggle with the monster within as she has to make many difficult choices such as how to feed to keep herself going and how far she needs to go to help everyone on their quest.
While the internal struggle of Allison hating her new nature as a vampire plays a big role, to my delight, there is also a lot of action, which was very exciting and helped keep the book moving. Vampires are impossibly fast and nearly indestructible which gives Allie an edge but sometimes she has to face other vampires and what then? Those who like a lot of action will be well-pleased.
Those who like well-developed characters will also be pleased though. As mentioned, Allison continues to be deepened throughout her narration but the other characters get the full-scale treatment too. Of particular interest to me were Zeke as the human love interest who is probably the nicest person Allison has ever met, giving without expectation and acting in what Allison might think is a naive way. And yet he has deep resources of strength and determination. I did like Zeke; he's just a good guy. His father is a strict man determined to protect the whole even if it means sacrificing an individual. And as mentioned earlier, Kanin was probably my favorite character.
Overall: Slow beginning but even this vampire story hater was won over by the masterful writing and plotting. I will definitely be back for the next book.
Cover: Not only is the model staring at me (something I find creepy), her eye is dripping blood (doubly creepy) so while it's appropriate (because vampires do cry blood in this world), it is not to my taste at all.
Unlike most people, I did not enjoy Kagawa's Iron Fey trilogy. Firstly I mostly hate fae stories but I also really hated the romance of Meghan and Ash (want to punch his stupid face) so I was initially going to skip this because I mostly hate vampire stories and hadn't had a good experience with the author's previous work. But then everybody seemed to be reviewing it and I am very susceptible to hype. So I picked up a copy to give it a shot.
The beginning did not ease my suspicions as it seemed to drag on and on. I didn't really care about Allison and her gang's struggle for life on the Fringe and I was so fed up with weakling Stick and his inability to toughen up and care for himself. While I admired Allison for her unrelenting hatred of vampires, nothing much was keeping me engaged with the book. However I do like the main character's name (Allison (that's with 2 L's) is my favorite sister's name) and seriously pretty much everyone raved about this book. I kept going.
At the end of the first section is when Allison is almost dead and has the option to die forever or to become a vampire. She chooses to survive and is turned. This is when I was really drawn into the book. Her mentor is Kanin, an ancient vampire with many secrets who trains Allison in what she needs to know. She will forever have to battle her Hunger but she has the ability to decide what kind of monster she will be. I love Kanin and lament his disappearance from the narrative so early but the book actually got even better (and we should see more of Kanin in the next book-fingers crossed)!
After Allison is on her own, she falls in with a band of humans and must masquerade as one despite suspicion from several members of the group. One who accepts her almost unquestioningly is Zeke, the second in command in the party on the search for Eden, a human city entirely without the menace of vampires. As they journey, Allison continues to struggle with the monster within as she has to make many difficult choices such as how to feed to keep herself going and how far she needs to go to help everyone on their quest.
While the internal struggle of Allison hating her new nature as a vampire plays a big role, to my delight, there is also a lot of action, which was very exciting and helped keep the book moving. Vampires are impossibly fast and nearly indestructible which gives Allie an edge but sometimes she has to face other vampires and what then? Those who like a lot of action will be well-pleased.
Those who like well-developed characters will also be pleased though. As mentioned, Allison continues to be deepened throughout her narration but the other characters get the full-scale treatment too. Of particular interest to me were Zeke as the human love interest who is probably the nicest person Allison has ever met, giving without expectation and acting in what Allison might think is a naive way. And yet he has deep resources of strength and determination. I did like Zeke; he's just a good guy. His father is a strict man determined to protect the whole even if it means sacrificing an individual. And as mentioned earlier, Kanin was probably my favorite character.
Overall: Slow beginning but even this vampire story hater was won over by the masterful writing and plotting. I will definitely be back for the next book.
Cover: Not only is the model staring at me (something I find creepy), her eye is dripping blood (doubly creepy) so while it's appropriate (because vampires do cry blood in this world), it is not to my taste at all.
Perfection.
This book is just perfect. It has it all, adventure, action, a good dose of badassery, beautiful romance, sorrow, loss, twists, believable and well developed characters....could you ask for more?no. A mixture of both the hunger games and the walking dead, and I said it all. I couldn't put it down, there wasn' t a dull moment, not once, from start to finish, I just devoured it. Seriously, it was that good. 6 stars.
This book is just perfect. It has it all, adventure, action, a good dose of badassery, beautiful romance, sorrow, loss, twists, believable and well developed characters....could you ask for more?no. A mixture of both the hunger games and the walking dead, and I said it all. I couldn't put it down, there wasn' t a dull moment, not once, from start to finish, I just devoured it. Seriously, it was that good. 6 stars.
This review was originally published at Fluttering Butterflies
Initially I wasn't going to read Immortal Rules. I thought to myself, 'I'm bored of vampires, I can't take anymore' but a chance to read this book came up, and I figured that it's Julie Kagawa, why not? She completely changed my opinion of fairies with her Iron Fey series, I thought maybe I should give her a chance to make me see vampires in a new, refreshing light. And, really, how could I have doubted her? I thought she did an incredible job with this book and I cannot wait to read absolutely anything else by Julie.
I loved in Immortal Rules how the story feels almost as if there are three distinct parts, each part as intriguing and fascinating as the others. When one ended, I was at once sad to see the story go in a different direction and also excited by what is to come. As this is the first book in the series, I'm really looking forward to seeing how things work out in this world and with the array of characters we meet. The beginning, which introduces us to our main character, Allison, and also to this dark and dangerous world in which vampires are in control, was exciting and gory and perfect. And each and every page had me desperate to know what would come next, what would happen? It's been a long time since I've been so enthralled by a book!
Initially I wasn't going to read Immortal Rules. I thought to myself, 'I'm bored of vampires, I can't take anymore' but a chance to read this book came up, and I figured that it's Julie Kagawa, why not? She completely changed my opinion of fairies with her Iron Fey series, I thought maybe I should give her a chance to make me see vampires in a new, refreshing light. And, really, how could I have doubted her? I thought she did an incredible job with this book and I cannot wait to read absolutely anything else by Julie.
I loved in Immortal Rules how the story feels almost as if there are three distinct parts, each part as intriguing and fascinating as the others. When one ended, I was at once sad to see the story go in a different direction and also excited by what is to come. As this is the first book in the series, I'm really looking forward to seeing how things work out in this world and with the array of characters we meet. The beginning, which introduces us to our main character, Allison, and also to this dark and dangerous world in which vampires are in control, was exciting and gory and perfect. And each and every page had me desperate to know what would come next, what would happen? It's been a long time since I've been so enthralled by a book!
I quite enjoyed this book. It was a nice spin on the whole vampire genre and something I haven't read before. There were a few places in the book that seemed to drag and there was a few spots where it seems that Kagawa glossed over some details but overall it was an entertaining read and I can't wait to read the second book!
Wow, I love this book. There is no sparkly vampires in this story. This is a book about a girls stuggle to fit in and also to try and keep her human thoughts thru out a hunger that calls to her strongly as blood flows around her making this hard. I can't wait for more!
I liked the first half - ok - let's say first 2/3rds - felt a little 'meh' on the last 1/3. It's been many years since I was a teen, however - and am sure I'd have been alllll over this book at the right age. Quick read.
I had high expectations going into this book as I am a big fan of Julie Kagawa. Her first series, The Iron Fey, is one of my favorites. So I was looking forward to getting my hands on another one of her novels.
I was definitely very happy with this new series of hers. It was completely unique from her previous series but still left me with the same giddy, amazed feeling I always get after finishing one of her books.
The plot, though a little slow at first, was intricately woven and well written. I felt like everything flowed very smoothly and nothing felt forced.
The world building was also very nice. I enjoyed all the details we learned about this new world where our heroine Allie is living. It was actually quite terrifying. The monsters, the desperation, and the over all ruthlessness of humans in this books was quite shocking. Every man for himself in this book.
The characters, even the minor ones, all were very realistic and detailed. I always love the way that Kagawa builds the characters and introduces us to them. It gives us a very intimate understanding of those characters. I could sympathize with all of them to some extent which is always nice.
My only problem with the book was how long it took to get to the actual conflict. I felt like the beginning was a bit drawn out. I didn't mind too much, as she used that time for world building, but I still would've liked a bit faster pace. In the beginning at least.
Overall a satisfying read by Kagawa. I'm happy to know that she can not only write some amazing Faerie books, but also a kick-ass vampire one as well.
(To view this review and more like it, visit my blog: http://wonderlandsreader.blogspot.com/ )
I was definitely very happy with this new series of hers. It was completely unique from her previous series but still left me with the same giddy, amazed feeling I always get after finishing one of her books.
The plot, though a little slow at first, was intricately woven and well written. I felt like everything flowed very smoothly and nothing felt forced.
The world building was also very nice. I enjoyed all the details we learned about this new world where our heroine Allie is living. It was actually quite terrifying. The monsters, the desperation, and the over all ruthlessness of humans in this books was quite shocking. Every man for himself in this book.
The characters, even the minor ones, all were very realistic and detailed. I always love the way that Kagawa builds the characters and introduces us to them. It gives us a very intimate understanding of those characters. I could sympathize with all of them to some extent which is always nice.
My only problem with the book was how long it took to get to the actual conflict. I felt like the beginning was a bit drawn out. I didn't mind too much, as she used that time for world building, but I still would've liked a bit faster pace. In the beginning at least.
Overall a satisfying read by Kagawa. I'm happy to know that she can not only write some amazing Faerie books, but also a kick-ass vampire one as well.
(To view this review and more like it, visit my blog: http://wonderlandsreader.blogspot.com/ )
In my opinion THIS is the vampire book that people were/are waiting for. This was such an interesting, fun, compelling and just all around awesome story. Really looking forward to reading the next book.
